Paring Down, Staying Sane: Seven Ways to Be More Efficient

If you are coming from a place where you are overwhelmed and overcommitted, it can be hard to do more than tread water. You have so little time left that the challenge of investing more time to save time down the line can feel laughable. Nevertheless, to get your time management under control again, you must begin by dedicating some time to the project of letting go of some things, and becoming more efficient at those tasks which remain. Here's how to get started:

1. Lower your standards.

No, not all of them - just the ones that don't really matter much. Get clear on when your high standards are aligned with your values, and applied to things that truly matter, versus high standards that you are applying because you feel everything needs to be perfect or because you've let someone else's standards become your own. For some tasks, good enough really is fine. Part of efficient time management is understanding what really needs to be done, and stopping.

2. Double up.

Multi-tasking is a mess, but choosing one task that fulfills several roles and purposes is wonderful. Combine quality time with your children with getting a household chore done (kids love helping). Combine time spent commuting with catching up on your reading. Catch up on filing or some other rote task at work while listening to a webinar. Take a brisk walk around the block when taking a needed break, combining exercise with your need for a mental change of pace.

3. Batch it up.

If you find that you do a certain task over and over, find ways to do it in batches instead of as separate one-off tasks scattered through your day. For instance, respond to email once a day or once an hour, not constantly. Plan your meals ahead and do your grocery shopping just once a week instead of a few times per week. Pay your bills once every two weeks

4. Gather your resources.

If you spend a lot of time stopping your work and tracking things down for a task, invest some time in noticing what you do and don't have at hand when you are working on projects. Then, gather the things you will consistently need in one place. Make it a habit to have a physical file (such as a folder) or a virtual file (such as a Google or Word doc with notes) for each project when you start. Take it out or open it whenever you start to work on the project. That way, you can put everything you'll need in one place and access it easily as you work.

5. Schedule it.

If you know how long your task will take and it's important to you to get it done, schedule that much time onto your calendar and honor that appointment. Don't let internal or external distractions impinge on that dedicate work time. If your task is too large for one sitting, think about how long you'd ideally spend on the next step and schedule that long.

6. Start it.

While it's very efficient to do things in one sitting from start to finish, it's also important to work with what you have. If you have a busy, interruption-intense workplace, or if you are trying to get things done at home with kids around, you may not always have the luxury of doing a six-hour project in one six-hour chunk. Instead, think about what the next step is and work on it. Keep steadily working in the small chunks of time that you have available. If you are persistent, you can finish.

7. Finish it.

Many people find the last 5% of a project the most frustrating. The frustration might arise from a desire not to be done until it's perfect, or from the final little roadblocks that creep up right when you're the most tired. In any case, a project that's 95% done is not done. If you stop working at the very brink, you will need to invest time in finding your next time to work on this project, getting your mind focused on it again, and so on. These task start-up costs are expensive. So, take almost done to done and finish your project. If you are one of those people who have a to-do list filled with projects that are 95% done, imagine how clear your mind will feel with all of those things full off your plate. So don't let yourself get distracted in the final push. Stay right there and get yourself to 100%.

Countless tips and tricks can make you more efficient at specific tasks. The most important thing about being efficient is adopting an efficient mindset.